An intersection that Eagle Mountain residents have requested for traffic signal improvements is now seeing changes.
The Utah Department of Transportation recently began work to install traffic lights on SR-73 at Mustang Way.
Eagle Mountain City Engineer Chris Trusty says this project has been in the works since April of 2022.
“They did a traffic signal warrant study for several intersections along 73,” says Trusty. “And this one did warrant.”
Mustang Way, also known as 14400 W., is located west of the Meadow Ranch neighborhood toward Cedar Pass Ranch.
State Route 73, known to Eagle Mountain residents as Cory B. Wride Memorial Highway, falls under the jurisdiction of the Utah Department of Transportation. Eagle Mountain City communicates regularly with UDOT representatives about the safety needs of the roadway.
According to Trusty, UDOT has already begun laying the groundwork for installation of the traffic signal.
“They’ve got crews on site right now starting to install the electrical,” says Trusty. “And then, they’ll be able to put down the bases and then they’ll be ready for the materials.”
Trusty says the project should be “pretty quick” from start to finish with an estimated completion in the next six weeks.
The intersection was the site of an accident that critically injured an 18-year-old man on Jan. 7.
The addition of a traffic signal at Mustang Way accommodates the growth in traffic in Eagle Mountain. Moving traffic along the highway has become a major focus for Eagle Mountain City.
That’s because Cory B. Wride Memorial Highway will eventually be expanded into a major freeway, which will be implemented in several phases. Funding for the expansion has not been allocated at the state level.
Once approved, the first phase will implement a frontage road system running from Ranches Parkway to the Mountain View Corridor interchange, according to Trusty. The second phase will be extending the freeway from Ranches Parkway to Eagle Mountain Boulevard.
UDOT has similar plans for 2100 N in Lehi. Current plans call for the freeway construction to begin on SR-73 after the expansion project in Lehi has been completed.
“UDOT is concerned that any improvements they make to 73 out here is just going to dump traffic somewhere else that doesn’t have the capacity to accommodate that traffic,” says Trusty.
The expansion of 2100 N would allow UDOT crews to expand SR-73 without putting unnecessary strain on other, smaller roadways.
While there is not a specific timetable for the expansion yet, Trusty says that the project is “fairly high up” on UDOT’s priorities list.
